


covered in feathers

by mercuryhatter



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Gen, questionable taste in literature
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 18:25:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18320786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercuryhatter/pseuds/mercuryhatter
Summary: Crowley watches Aziraphale get absorbed in a new book, the identity of which is unexpected





	covered in feathers

Crowley had fallen asleep curled up in the window nook of Aziraphale’s back room earlier that day, desperate for a nap in the sun after an extended trip to Moscow that left him feeling like he would be permanently chilly and light-starved. He wouldn’t, of course; even just this few hours of sleep left him feeling warm and refreshed. So much so, in fact, that he intended to stay where he was as long as possible. 

 

He had a lovely view to facilitate this. Aziraphale was across the room, sitting with his legs neatly crossed in his favorite armchair, completely and utterly absorbed in his book. He hadn’t so much as twitched when Crowley had woken an hour ago with a stretch of his serpentine spine, and in the time since had breathed exactly once, seemingly in reaction to something he’d read. His only movement was to turn the pages, careful and deliberate. 

 

He was beginning to dissolve a little at the edges, the way he did when he was absorbed in something he’d never read before. Aziraphale loved newness: between his age, his lack of sleep, and his reading speed, he chewed through far more books than any human could ever manage, and whenever something new came out that he enjoyed, it captivated him completely. Crowley loved to watch it happen. Aziraphale completely lost consciousness of the little tics and twitches that made him seem human. In the same way that Crowley sometimes seemed more snakelike than others, when he was stressed or excited or angry, Aziraphale lost his human self in contemplation. His movements blurred the air as if they existed on a lag from the rest of the world. His hair, normally a dull reddish-blond, took on a faint glow. His eyes lost their human shape entirely, going a flat, dark blue. The better to read without moving them, Crowley supposed. If he looked long enough, he could see the shapes of Aziraphale’s many-headed angel form traced in the sunlit dust around him, a flicker of wings sketched on the wallpaper behind him. 

 

Crowley would be able to stay here for quite some time with Aziraphale like this. He wouldn’t rouse for anything short of heavenly trumpets, and maybe not even those. After a while, Crowley drifted back to sleep. The sun had set, but the room still felt warm, now emanating from Aziraphale instead of the window, a soft, comforting presence on Crowley’s skin. 

 

Crowley woke three days later to the sound of Aziraphale making tea. His hair and shoulders were dusty and his eyes still a little unfocused as he hummed through the ritual of cream and sugar. They lit up as he noticed Crowley stretch. 

 

“Good afternoon, my dear,” he said. If Crowley had to describe it, he would have said Aziraphale’s voice itself was a little dusty too. He accepted the teacup, flickering his tongue into the steam. 

 

“Mmm. Morning, angel. Good book?” He budged over to the very corner of the window nook. Aziraphale settled in next to him. They barely fit, but Crowley hardly minded throwing his legs over Aziraphale’s and being pressed into his side. 

 

“Very interesting,” Aziraphale confirmed. “The last of a series.” 

 

“What’s it called?” 

 

“‘Breaking Dawn,’” Aziraphale said blithely.

 

It was difficult to say which was louder, the shattering of Crowley’s dropped teacup or the explosion of delighted laughter that followed. 

**Author's Note:**

> this was a silly prompt for the Names for Sides server, but I decided since it's April Fools I might as well post it here. I also have to confess that the title is absolutely a quote from Breaking Dawn, namely when Bella wakes up from having hot vampire-on-human sex and asks why she's covered in feathers. I am so sorry.


End file.
